A Collaboration to Teach US MPH Students about Cuba's Health Care System.

In 2011, the US Department of the Treasury changed its regulations to allow US students to participate in short-term education programs in Cuba. Beginning in 2012, and each year thereafter, Cuba's National School of Public Health and the Colorado School of Public Health have jointly taught a class on the Cuban public health system. The program goals are to provide US students with an opportunity to learn about the Cuban national health system's focus on 1) prevention and primary health care services; 2) financial and geographic access to services and health equity; 3) continuum of care across the home, family doctor-and-nurse offices, polyclinics and hospitals; 4) data collection at all levels to understand health risks, including outbreaks, and to guide resource allocation; 5) assessing patients' health and risks using a comprehensive definition of health; 6) multisectoral collaborations between the Ministry of Public Health and other Cuban agencies and organizations to address population health risks; 7) disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and 8) provision of international health assistance.